Crushing more grapes

Looks like Sunday crush is off but we have a lot to do next week. On Monday, Oct 24, we will crush the Zinfandel. This grape will come from Amador County and usually gets here around 10 AM. Derec said he could help. On Tuesday, Oct 25th we will press the Grenache (and I will have to add yeast). On Wednesday, Oct 26th, we will crush the Barbera. And on Friday, MAYBE we will crush the Malbec. The Malbec is not confirmed yet but the rest is. Should be a busy week. Naturally, everything comes in at once.

There may be a fungal problem with the Zin and Barbera. These grapes are head trained and don't get the air circulation some of the other trellising systems have. Thus with the rain, comes the fungus. The fungus can produce problems by increasing the number of unwelcome yeast and bacteria by breaking open the grape skins as well as during fermentation utilizing nutrients that are usually available for the yeast. It is all manageable but we will see what happens with the results. Always something new to learn. We could do with a year or two without something new to learn. Oh well.